All About Discovery!New Mexico State University
nmsu.edu
™
J. Phillip King, PE, Ph.D.Professor and Associate Department Head,
Department of Civil EngineeringOctober 18, 2018
Desalination of Brackish Water in the Southern Mesilla Valley:
Preliminary Planning
The Lower Rio Grande Dilemma• Persistent drought and a permanent shift to a more
arid climate;• Highly interactive surface water and groundwater;• Long-term water policy issues;• Water is necessary for economic development.• Litigation: Texas and US v. New Mexico on the Rio
Grande Project.
Desalination of Brackish Water
• US Bureau of Reclamation funding $400k + $478k cost share (NMWRRI), Jan 2019 – Dec 2020
• Co-PIs: Dr. Pei Xu, Dr. Sam Fernald, Dr. KC Carroll• Geohydrology: Dr. John Hawley, PG• Consultant: Ed Archuleta, PE
Project Objectives:• Assess potential for brackish water desalination in
the Santa Teresa area;• Characterize source water and geohydrology,
treatment technologies, and disposal alternatives;• Integrate with prior and ongoing planning efforts;• Explore binational potential for water supply to San
Jeronimo in Mexico;• Produce a Preliminary Engineering report and plan
path forward.
LPOE
Monument
The Santa Teresa/San JeronimoBorder Region
Santa TeresaSan Jeronimo
EBID, based on Hawley
Mesilla Basin-Subbasin Area with thick zones of saturated Santa Fe Group Basin Fill (blues).
Rio Grande Valley floor (dark blue)
Hawley et al., 2018
Interlinked Hydro-geologic Basins and Subbasins of the Mesilla Basin Region
Rincon (beige), Southern Jornada (light green), Cedar-Corralitos (green), Tularosa (brown), Hueco (light brown), Malpais (purple), El Parabien (violet), Bedrock Highlands (tan), and Inter-basinUnderflow Corridors (light blue)
Mesilla Basin Trans-Boundary Sector
X-Section Base: MSL; Vertical Exaggeration: 5x
Hawley et al., 2018
Hawley et al., 2018
What’s Next?
• Stakeholders meeting, project implementation; • Pilot testing, demonstration of concept• Student Capstone treatment plant design projects• Explore binational potential: USIBWC, Mexican
partners• Note to self: Get quarterly report to Cathy
Reference:Hawley, J.W., B.H. Swanson, J.S. Walker, S.H. Glaze, 2018. Hydrologic Framework of the Mesilla Basin Region of New Mexico, Texas, and Chihuahua (Mexico) – Advances in Conceptual and DigitalModel Development. NM Water Resources Research Institute Technical Completion Report 363. Publication pending.